Cushion ride water ski pad



Jan. 28, 1964 D. 1 sENNE ETAL CUSHION RIDE WATER SKI PAD Filed Aug. 25, 1961 NN Nm..

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United States Patent O This invention relates to slalom skis and more particularly to a wedge-shaped sponge cushion for supporting the arch and heel area of a water skiers foot.

in slalom skiing most of the weight of the skier is on the leg which is placed to the rear on the second ski binding, and since the ski is in a slanted position while in use, the rear foot engages the ski only with its toes, and the greater part of the foot is at an angle to the upper surface of the ski, with the result that only the front toe portion of the foot actually engages the ski. This reduces the positive engagement between the foot and the ski, introducing a large strain on the muscles of the leg and reduces the maneuverability that can be obtained with such partial engagement between the foot of the skier and the slalom ski.

The invention provides a wedge-shaped cushion which extends through the rear toe-piece and beyond the toepiece, the angle of the wedge produced by the cushion corresponding to the angle which is normally formed by the bottom portion of the foot of the skier and the upper surface of the ski at the rear toe-piece on the slalom ski.

Therefore, the skiers rear foot makes a positive engage- Y ment with the wedge-shaped cushion furnishing a solid support to the rear leg of the slalom skier, with the result that there is a positive solid support engagement between the rear foot and the desired support furnished by the ski. The following advantages are obtained:

The ride becomes more comfortable because of the positive engagement between the rear foot and the ski. There is better maneuverability and less strain on the muscles of the leg because the rear portion of the foot is not held up in the air by the muscles of the leg but rests firmly on the wedge-shaped cushion. Thus, there is less fatigue and because of the positive engagement, the maneuverability and stability of the ride is improved.

it is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a wedge-shaped cushion for a rear toe-piece on a slalom ski, the angle of the wedge being adjusted so as to provide a positive support for the entire bottom of the rear foot of the skier which thus can rest and have a positive support from toe to heel of the user.

it is an additional object of this invention to provide a wedge-shaped cushion for a slalom water ski having appropriate firmness to support the entire rear foot in a natural, comfortable position on top of the support, and having a surface which is resistant to damage by water or abrasion by sand, and having proper resiliency for adjusting itself to the right angle when in use.

Referring to the drawings:

FiG. l is a plan view of a slalom ski.

FlG. 2 is a side view of a slalom ski.

FlG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 3-3 illustrated in FIG. 1, of the rear toe-piece and wedge-shaped cushion.

Referring to the iigures, ski l@ is provided with a front toe-piece l2 and a front heel-piece 14. The front toepiece l2 is attached to the ski by means of two side plates 3,119,130 Patented Jan. 28, 1964 ice 16 and 17 and a plurality of set screws 13. The heel piece 14 is attached to the ski by means of two guide rails 19 and 20 and an adjustable plate 2l, which forms a sliding engagement with the rails 19 and 20 through two iianges 22 and 23, which are attached to a horseshoeshaped member 24 which in turn is riveted to heel piece 14 by means of a plurality of rivets 25. The position of plate 21 can be adjusted on the ski by means of a bolt 26 which is fastened to the ski and passes through a slit 27 in plate 2l. The rear ski harness includes only the rear toe-piece 28, which is attached to the ski by means of metallic plates 29 and 39, which are attached to the ski by means of a plurality of set screws 3l. The wedgeshaped pad 32 is attached to the ski by means of a rear metallic plate 33 and a plurality of set screws 34 and the front portion of the wedge-shaped pad is attached to the ski by two metallic plates 29 and Sil, and set screws 31 which are also used for attaching the rear toe-piece 28. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the angle formed by the wedge-shaped cushion is angle 38. This angle is made in the order of from 5 to 10.

The material that is used for making the cushion is a neoprene sponge or expanded rubber composition since the cushion is to withstand considerable resistance to weathering, such as sunlight, salt water, etc., but other sponge or expanded rubber, or cellular compositions having a limited amount of resilience so as to act as rm support may be used. The preferred firmness as measured on a Shore "00 scale is from 60-80, although satisfactory parts may be made from compositions as soft as 40 and up to as firm as 100. One type of durometer hardness intrument is made by the Shore Instruments and Manuacturing Co., New York, New York, and is described in US. Patent 2,453,042. Durometer instruments are made with different strength springs and scales for measuring dilerent hardness of elastomers, and the scale used specically for measuring hardness of sponge rubber is known as the Shore "00 scale, stamped on the face of the instrument. For a full description of the standards and instruments of this type, reference is made to ASTM Standards on Rubber Products prepared by ASTM Cornmittee D-ll on Rubber and Rubber-Like Materials, published by American Society for Testing Materials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia 3, Pennsylvania, issued annually. The durometer tests are described in the chapter having ASTM designation D-676-49T, indentation of Rubber by Means of a Durometer.

What we claim as new is:

1. In a slalom water ski having front and rear harnesses, a rear harness comprising a toe piece and a foot support located below said toe piece, said foot support comprising a wedge shaped elastomeric pad, having a thin front end and an elevated rear end, extending from the front end of said toe piece realward beyond said toe piece and means for fastening said toe piece and said pad to said ski.

2. In a slalom water ski having front and rear foot harnesses, a rear harness for holding the foot of a skier in angular relation to said ski, comprising a toe piece and a support located below said toe piece, said support cornprising a resilient wedge shaped pad, having a thin front end and an elevated rear end, said support extending from the front end of said toe piece rearward beyond said toe piece and at an angle sutlicient to support the entire sole of the foot while said ski is in use and means for fastening said toe piece and cto-extensive portions of the right and left edges of said support to said ski and additional means for fastening the rear transverse portion of said support to said ski.

3. The pad as dened in claim 2 in which the said pad has a durometer hardness from 40 to 100 on Shore 00 scale.

4. The pad as defined in claim 2 in which said pad is an expanded rubber pad.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Timson Oct. 22, 1946 Hedlund Aug. 25, 1959 Sackett Dec. 29, 1959 Sharpe Aug. 23, 1960 Baker Aug. 22, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland May 15, 1939 

1. IN A SLALOM WATER SKI HAVING FRONT AND REAR HARNESSES, A REAR HARNESS COMPRISING A TOE PIECE AND A FOOT SUPPORT LOCATED BELOW SAID TOE PIECE, SAID FOOT SUPPORT COMPRISING A WEDGE SHAPED ELASTOMERIC PAD, HAVING A THIN FRONT END AND AN ELEVATED REAR END, EXTENDING FROM THE FRONT END OF SAID TOE PIECE REARWARD BEYOND SAID TOE PIECE AND MEANS FOR FASTENING SAID TOE PIECE AND SAID PAD TO SAID SKI. 